Boards›Player Behavior

Discussion: How to Minimize Smurfing

Subdue·6/7/2019, 2:28:48 PM·1 votes·2,307 views

First, why should smurfing be minimized? There are a number of reasons, and while I won't go into all of them, below are few of the key ones:

  1. Smurfing is the safe haven of trolls, the escape of ragers, and the return of unwanted elements. If Riot is serious that a permanent ban is a message that Riot does not want the player in the game in any capacity, then dealing with smurfing is of huge importance.

  2. Smurfing devalues a player's primary account . The option to smurf makes the permanent ban a less terrifying threat, thus taking of its teeth. Don't get me wrong, a permaban sucks, it really really sucks, but it's not really "permanent."

  3. Smurfing disrupts matchmaking. Matchmaking is honed over many games, and for a normal new player, Matchmaking makes a guess as to where that player belongs, and is more often than not, pretty close. The player's matchmaking rating moves slowly as their skill improves, but they are fairly consistently matched with similarly skilled players. However, a smurf throws this completely out of whack, as a smurf often has very few games but the skill of a player who is much more experienced.

I don't think there's a simple solution to to make smurfing impossible. However, it's certainly possible to decrease the rate of smurfing. One example of how this could be done:

  1. As part of creating an account, require an upfront Fee of $40.

  2. Provide an option to waive the fee if a mobile number is provided. (It is possible to verify a mobile number as a mobile number, not VOIP, and in fact there are services which do so.)

  3. If the phone number waiver is not used, convert the $40 fee into RP at a much higher rate available only through account creation.

The phone option should cover the overwhelming majority of players, while the payment option is available to those who don't possess a phone number. Making smurfs is possible, but now comes at a cost.

Could this work? Why or why not?

Note: I originally posted part of this as a response to another thread, but I think it merits more discussion.

24 Comments

GatekeeperTDS6/7/2019, 2:53:34 PM1 votes

Sorry, but I stopped here -

Smurfing is the safe haven of trolls, the escape of ragers, and the return of unwanted elements.

All 3 of the points you present, including these two -

Smurfing devalues a player's primary account. Smurfing disrupts matchmaking.

Are all subjective and can't be proven. And no, anecdotal evidence ("A smurf ruined a game I was in.") is not proof.

When you make arguments, the onus is on you to prove them, not for others to disprove them. I disagree with you on all three points.

Timethief496/7/2019, 4:32:10 PM1 votes
  1. Beginning fee would kill the game.
  2. Not everyone has a mobile phone. Thus still making point 1 kill the game.
  3. See point 1.
Quiet Dude6/7/2019, 4:35:53 PM1 votes

How does one minimizing smurfing? Aren't smurfs already small and blue?

Imperial Pandaa6/7/2019, 5:01:18 PM1 votes

In response to the key points:

.1. Since punishments don't drop without ganes played, it isn't a safe haven. If you could drop tiers without playing, I would agree.

.2. It doesn't devalue your main unless you plan on changing in tge long run. I want my main to be safe because it is where I have money invested. A permanent ban means that investment is gone. It isn't like a regular MMO where I can just trade everything to a new account.

.3. Not sure about Ranked, but normal MMR seems to rise pretty quickly on a smurf account.

As for the ideas:

.1. Yes, charging would in theory reduce the number; but really that is just giving a free pass to people who can afford it. Saw it in cases with CS:GO before it went f2p.

.2. Cells are an idea, but not everyone has ready access to one.

.3. I wouldn't say 40$ but it goes back to .1. Just would feed the conspiracy of Riot banning to make you spend more money.

Subdue6/7/2019, 8:10:51 PM1 votes

By the way, lol:

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/player-behavior-moderation/pguUT7Wj-i-leave-ranked-games-and-swap-to-a-different-smurf

Yboat6/7/2019, 8:38:33 PM1 votes

The most effective way is to link it too a phone number ( at least in the us) it won't stop it, but it would make a huge difference. Give say 3 accounts per number